Stock Market

As of Sep 29, U.S. stock index futures performed as follows: Dow Jones futures rose 0.26%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.25%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.48%. The move points to a cautious but constructive pre-open tone, with the Nasdaq-leaning contract outperforming and suggesting continued support for growth and semiconductor names. By contrast, the major cash benchmarks had finished lower previously, so the futures rebound indicates some stabilization ahead of the U.S. session.

Notable Stock Movers: In the pre-market mover list, NVIDIA up 0.74% and Advanced Micro Devices up 1.23% led chip-linked strength, while Micron Technology up 1.32%, Broadcom up 0.8%, and Intel up 0.7% reinforced the group’s momentum.

Meta Platforms up 1.17% and Tesla Motors up 0.44% also traded higher, while Apple down 0.43% and Microsoft down 0.08% were weaker.

Among other notable names, Summit Therapeutics up 19% stood out as the biggest percentage gainer in the snapshot.

In the semiconductor-adjacent group, SK hynix gained 1.32%, Marvell Technology rose 1.48%, and SanDisk climbed 1.29%. The pattern suggests risk appetite is concentrating in chips and selected AI-linked leaders rather than spreading evenly across the market.

Broader U.S.-listed China and growth names were mixed. NIO fell 3.34% to $3.47, XPeng fell 2.41% to $9.71, Li Auto fell 1.96% to $11.48, and JD.com slipped 0.53% to $26.47, while NetEase rose 1.16% to $122.45 and MINISO Group rose 2.47% to $9.13.

Other Markets

• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.59%, to 5.21%.

• U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.0791% to 101.28.

• WTI crude oil futures fell 1.60% to 91.12 USD/barrel; COMEX gold futures rose 0.43% to 4186.40 USD/ounce.

Key News

1. China’s Ministry of Finance announced mortgage interest subsidies for newly issued commercial personal housing loans, aiming to lower homebuying costs. The subsidy is designed for ordinary families purchasing small, lower-priced homes and caps eligible principal at 1.0 million yuan. The move should reduce financing costs for first-home buyers and directly support demand in the housing market.

2. The People’s Bank of China cut the mortgage-supplementary lending rate and expanded several lending quotas to support investment and credit growth. The central bank lowered the one-year PSL rate to 1.50% from 1.75% and broadened PSL usage to include infrastructure such as water, power, computing, communications, underground pipe, and logistics networks. It also raised re-lending support for technology transformation, agriculture, and private enterprises, reinforcing a policy push toward credit expansion.

3. Tesla received approval to roll out its supervised Full Self-Driving system in Croatia. The company said the software will begin rolling out soon, adding another European market to its approval list. The development extends Tesla’s effort to expand the technology across the region and supports its push to improve sales and market share.

4. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals agreed to license global rights to its obesity drug HRS-1596 to Novo Nordisk in a deal worth up to $2.6 billion. Novo Nordisk will gain exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the drug outside certain regions, while paying an upfront fee of $300 million. The agreement gives Hengrui a large potential milestone stream and expands its global partnering reach.

5. Singapore’s Monetary Authority said it will allocate S$1.45 billion to five asset managers to support the local equities market. The funds will go to Amundi, Franklin Templeton, HSBC Asset Management, M&G Investments, and Natixis Investment Managers under the Equity Market Development Programme. The authority also announced a S$20 million grant for small- and mid-cap stocks and new listings, signaling an effort to deepen market participation.

6. Nvidia disclosed a $150 billion increase to its share-repurchase program, bringing total authorization to $235 billion. The company said it expects to execute the full amount through fiscal year 2028. The enlarged buyback underscores Nvidia’s strong cash generation and its dominant position in the AI chip supply chain.

7. Oura advanced toward a $2 billion initial public offering as its roadshow neared completion. The smart-ring maker is pitching investors on a model that combines device sales with recurring subscription revenue. If the offering succeeds, it could encourage more public listings of wearable-health companies.

8. A Democratic Senate investigative report accused Tether of being a key conduit for Iran’s shadow banking system and urged U.S. authorities to examine potential sanctions and banking-law violations. The report called on the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice to investigate the stablecoin issuer. It also tied the matter to broader scrutiny of crypto-related business relationships and political connections.

9. Strategy bought 1,665 bitcoin last week, increasing its holdings to 847,666 coins. The purchase lifted the company’s digital-asset stockpile to a level above what it held before beginning earlier sales. The move shows the firm continuing to expand its cryptocurrency exposure despite recent volatility in token prices.

10. Australia’s central bank raised its cash rate to 4.60% and signaled it may tighten further if needed. The Reserve Bank of Australia said inflation risks remain elevated and that recent data point to stronger-than-expected growth and inflation. The rate decision reinforces a global backdrop of restrictive monetary policy and higher financing pressure.

Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data

Disclaimer: For informational purposes only; not investment advice.